Purchased house built 2002. Has popcorn ceiling to hide poor job of taping (looks like tape and 1 coat). Read blurb in latest TOH magazine about rolling on thinned out joint compound then smoothing with knife. Were can I find info / procedures on this method? Can't afford drywall contractor. HELP

That is why popcorn is used, it's faster and cheaper than properly taping the joints.

you will need to scr-ape as much of the popcorn off as possible. This is most easily done by lightly wetting it, then scraping with a drywall taping knife. From there I'd recommend floating the joints and fasteners until they are properly smoothed out, then a skim layer over the entire surface to take care of irregularities from the removed popcorn.

Now you're ready to either retexture with orange peel, knock-down, skip trowel, or whatever else suits your fancy. You don't have to retexture if you don't want to, just keep in mind that a "flat" surface shows defects far more prominently than a textured one, even a lightly textured surface.

When you're done with all that, apply two coats of a good primer such as Zinsser's Bull's Eye 123 (blue label ), and two coats of a good quality paint, such as Kelly Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc.

The regulars around here have frequently fight about what constitutes a good brand, so you're pretty much on your own to decide what will work for you. I am of the opinion that big box stores do NOT sell paint, hence the recommendation of a bonefide paint dealer. Nor will you find any "1 coat" paint or "2 in 1" paint/primer product.

That thinned out drywall compound trick is not going to work over the very knubby texture of popcorn. It is intended to smooth out bad textures from past paint jobs, etc. It is also sometimes used as the final top coat of joints on new taping.

Spruce is giving you good advice. Get rid of the old popcorn first. It is really a messy job. You will want to clear the room and cover the entire floor with plastic. Try as you might, the floor will get sloppy globs of wet popcorn on it.

The popcorn is basically nothing more than globs of gypsum. Once the bulk of it is scrapped off, you can either sand down the remaining residue or wash it off.

As Spruce says, it is your call as to how you treat the newly cleaned drywall - build-up the seams and leave a smooth ceiling and/or apply new texture.

Use a "drywall" sealer to prime the new drywall. Drywall sealers are specifically designed to set down the extremely porous nature of the drywall surface and the mudded joints. Drywall sealer is quite inexpensive - about $10 to $12. If you want a flat sheen, you can go with a "ceiling White" as a finish coat. Ceiling whites are blended to dry absolutely dead flat and will hide minor blemishes.

If this is a high humidity area such as baths or laundry, consider a couple finish coats of a higher sheen paint. Generally, the higher the sheen, the better the moisture protection. It will take two finish coats to get the sheen to dry evenly.

One further note. I would also avoid those paint/primer paints for your application. They are good for re-coating of good existing paint jobs, but not on new, porous work. If nothing else, they are not cost affective. Why be using relatively expensive paint as a primer?

Removing popcorn ceiling is a dirty, messy and miserable job, and the cleaning is not easy either, so think twice about doing it yourself. Around here you can get the removal done for less than $1.20 a square foot. I usually gladly pay someone to do it before I can start with the drywall work.

i have done several of these cielings what i did was sc**** off the popcorn with a 12" blade and it leaves a knock down look you will want to cover entire room with a heavy plastic open 1 window put a fan in to draw out the dust then prime & top coat

i have done several of these cielings what i did was sc**** off the popcorn with a 12" blade and it leaves a knock down look you will want to cover entire room with a heavy plastic open 1 window put a fan in to draw out the dust then prime & top coat

I have to say, nothing about this post instills quality of work.

The OP doesn't like seeing all the joints in the drywall, which you don't even address. The whole point of popcorn is to hide a poorly taped ceiling, scr ape it off and it becomes worse. Put paint over that nastiness and it makes an even bigger mess to clean up. Dry scr aping makes a huge mess. I could go on, but suffice it to say, you missed the mark with your suggestions.

anytime i run into this type of ceiling we simply knock down any high spots then install new drywall right over it.. this is much cleaner than scraping the entire ceiling then skimming the entire ceiling. i use a very skilled taper but he hates trying to float these ceilings, it can take days of skimming to get it to look right, we can hang fresh board in a hour or so then it takes him 1/2 a day to mud it